We started our RV journey with the Coleman Road Trip LXE Portable 2 burner Propane Grill – 20,00 BTU but during a recent shopping trip we purchased the Weber Q 1200 LP Gas Grill. Since we have owned and cooked on both grills we wanted to share our pro’s and con’s list for each, along with making the above comparison video because one maybe better for you!

Coleman Road Trip LXE Grill

Pros-

• Stand and grill are attached – makes for easy set up and easy stow
• Integrated utensil hooks
• Larger grilling surface (285 sq. in. cooking surface area) – cook more food at one time ~ great for BBQ parties
• Two separate grill areas (2 burners) that can be lit separately – can cook meat on one side and veggies on the other at different heat settings
• Slide out trays
• Optional replacement griddle rack – on one or both sides
• Comes in a variety of colors (e.g. blue, red, black, etc.)

Cons-

• Heavy – we find it hard to pull the grill in and out of our bay, especially with only one person
• Lid is shallow – hard to use grill accessories
• No external thermometer
• Hard to access and non-disposable cleaning tray – small and difficult to clean
• Gas connector not in ideal location – the connector sticks out of back causing it to be easily damaged by hitting things while stored and during the stowing process. It also blocks the cleaning tray, you need to disconnect gas to get to the cleaning tray.
• Wheels on grill stand are weak – the interior of one of our wheels broke while I was stowing the grill for travel

Coleman Summary

The Coleman’s cooking ability is great, the flame/heat range can be adjusted ever so slightly, letting you get just the right cook for your favorite meal. We found it a little bulky and heavy to constantly take in and out of our coach. In all a good grill for large families and parties, giving you the ability to cook a lot of food quickly. It is also cheaper, with stand and grill attached, a good camping grill for the cost. It is currently around $140 on Amazon and in Walmart.

Weber Q 1200 LP Gas Grill

Pros-

• Strong build construction – feels like a mini weber not like a camping stove
• Extremely light and portable
• Larger grilling volume – ability to cook a roasted chicken due to the high top lid
• Traditional grill designed lid – better for grill accessories
• Exterior thermometer (not available on Weber Q1000)
• Easy clean tray – easy to access and throw away tin
• Gas connector is located under grill to the left – out of the way but still easy to access for connecting propane
• Optional replacement griddle rack – on one or both sides
• Comes in a variety of colors (e.g. blue, green, pink, red, black, etc.)

Cons-

• Stand and grill are bought separately and Weber stand for grill is not very study
• More expensive – needing to purchase grill and stand separately
• No area to hang grill utensils
• Single burner – can heat entire grill to only one setting
• Heat range is subtle – meaning the low to high heating is very similar and it is difficult to cook something on a low setting
• Finicky regulator – sometimes the regulator will go into protection mode and block the propane flow

Weber Summary

The Weber Q 1200 is light weight and extremely portable. While it was a little more expensive, currently pricing at $199, we really liked the size and style of this grill. As it is easy to pull out of your coach and start cooking. While the regulator can be ‘finicky’ and you don’t get as much versatility in cooking (due to the single burner) it still cooks a delicious meal, and you have an external thermometer to assist in cooking food at the right temperature. We found this grill to be better for smaller crowds or great for your grill aficionado. As you can purchase all kinds of grill accessories to tailor to your specific grill needs or desires.   

Want to get one too?

Below are the links to purchase one for yourself. We also included a few links on our favorite grill accessories.

• Coleman (Amazon link)
  • Extended Gas Connector (Amazon link)
  • Grill Cover (Amazon link)
  • Griddle Option (Amazon link)
• Weber (Amazon link)
  • Extended Gas Connector (Amazon link)
  • Griddle Option (Amazon link)
  • Disposable Drip Pans (Amazon link)
  • Weber Grill Stand (Amazon link)
  • Grill Cover (Amazon link)
• Our Suggested Grill Accessories
  • Grill Utensils with Case (Amazon link)
  • GCI Cook Station/ Grill Stand (Amazon link)
  • Grill Vegetable Basket (Amazon link)
  • Grill Matt (Amazon link)

Don’t like either? Here are a few other popular grill options that RV’ers and campers are also purchasing.

• Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Portable Tabletop Gas Grill (Amazon link)
• Coleman NXT Lite Tabletop Propane Grill (Amazon link)
• Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Portable Grill2Go Gas Grill (Amazon link)

Let us know your thoughts! What grill and grill accessories do you use?

Or better yet,  have any good grill recipes? We love trying to cook new things on our grill.

Happy chillin and grillin!

The post The Portable Grill Challenge appeared first on LivinLite.net.

I’m no professional cake maker that is for sure, but I saw a three layered multi-colored cake being made in a professional kitchen and thought… I can totally make that in my RV! AND an even better reason I’m going to make it for my mom for Mother’s Day!

Below is what you are going to need-

Utensils:

• 3 Round Cake Tins
• 3 Bowls
• 3 Spoons
• Spatula (or butter knife for spreading icing)
• Bread Knife
• Cutting Board
• Round Plate (for cake)

Ingredients:

• 2 Boxes of White Cake Mix (whichever band you prefer – I used Duncan Hines)
• 2 Cups of Water
• 2/4 Cups of Vegetable Oil
• 3 lg. Egg Whites
• 2 Jars of Icing (I used Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla 16oz)
• Food Coloring (I used red)
• Icing (for decorating – I used Betty Crocker Petal Pink Decorating Cupcake Icing 8.4oz)

Cook time:

• 27 minutes per layer of cake

Oven temp:

• 375°F

Happy Mothers Day!!

It was a great hit and my mom loved it! Check out my video above to see how I did it!

The post Bake a 3 Layer Cake in your RV Convection Microwave! appeared first on LivinLite.net.

My first attempt to use the convection-cooking feature, to make brownies, was definitely a bit “cowboy.” I didn’t bother to read the owners manual and I thought how much different from an oven could it be. So I mixed up my brownie batter, poured it in my Pyrex glass dish, removed all the additional metal racks, pressed bake, set time and let it go. Let’s just say my brownies did not come out well. The bottom never cooked and the top burned – so first trail… let’s just pretend it never happened.

For my next baking attempt, and right in time for fall, I made some delicious pumpkin spice cupcakes. This time I actually read the manual and figured out a few tricks of my own. Good thing they came out well because I brought them over as a party favor to meet our new friends Marc and Julie (also full time bloggers from RVlove.com). We got to chatting about these amazing pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting 🙂 (here is the recipe here -> Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for anyone that would like to make them) and realized that many RV owners don’t use their RV convection microwave for baking because of the big question, “do they really work?”

I wanted to write this article, and make a fun video, showing that it works and you can actually make really good food (or cupcakes in my case). Please find my tips to using a Samsung Convection Microwave below and hopefully it will show that you can; one, use your own RV Convection Microwave and two, save you from a failed first attempt like me.

Kala’s Tips to using a RV Convection Microwave for Baking –

• Use the metal racks. Depending on what you are making (i.e. the height of the pan/dish) you will use the small, medium or high rack. This allows hot air to circulate around your food and cook it evenly (for the cupcakes I used the medium rack).

• Set your oven temperature 25 degrees higher than what the receipt calls for. I personally found this helps the cooking time stay consistence with a regular oven. Since the RV convection microwave is smaller than a regular oven once you open the door to put the food in a lot of the heat escapes. Having the extra 25 degrees allows your food to stay at the correct temperature and cook in the allotted time.

• Allow your convection microwave to fully pre-heat. This is probably a good rule of thumb any time you are baking but putting your food in a hot oven helps it cook evenly and in the time stated for the receipt.

• When using a rectangular pan don’t forget to shut off the turntable option. Let’s just say I almost had a big lemon chicken mess because I left the turntable on, placed a rectangle pan of chicken on the medium circular rake and closed the door. The pan hit the side of the microwave and almost fell over. You can also invest in some round oven safe dishes (pie dishes or silicone options are great too).

• Not sure about something. Check your owner’s manual. OK, this seems pretty obvious but I was amazed at the number of settings within our Samsung Convection Microwave. For example, you can bake, broil, roast and there is even a new feature call “SLIM FRY.” The ‘slim fry’ technology allows you to cook crispy food without hot oil. This was especially great for us since we are trying to cook healthier meals.

Overall, do RV convection ovens work? Yes! Can you bake in them? Yes! And yes, the food comes out good!  ~Well the last part could depend on the chef 😉 

Please share! I would love to hear about any additional tips or how your first convection oven experience went. AND… if the food tasted delicious, please share your receipts too. I would love to try them!

The post RV Convection Microwave – Do they work? Can you really bake in one? appeared first on LivinLite.net.